Philip



Dec. 29, 1959 2,918,810

M. PHILIP METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 8, 1956 KNITTED PRODUCT 5 24 INYENTOR,

3' 4 MORRIS PHILIP FIG. 2 Y JW 4 W ATTORNEY Dec. 29, 1959 pH P 2,918,810

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING Filed Nov. 8, 1956 a Sheets-Sheet. z

ATTORNEY M. PHILIP METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING Filed Nov. 8, 1956 Dec. 29, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG-.5,

-INVENTOR MOR RI 5 P H I L. l P

ATTORNEY Dec. 29, 1959 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 8, 1956 FIGJIA INVENTOR,

MORRIS PHILIP Dec. 29, 1959 M. PHILIP 2,918,810

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING Filed Nov. 8, 1956 8 SheetsSheet 5 INVENTOR MORRIS PHILIP ATTORNEY M. PHILIP METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING Dec. 29, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Nov. 8, 1956 INVENTOR,

ATTORNEY Dec. 29, 1959 PHIL: 2,918,810

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING Filed Nov. 8, 1956 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 :04 INVENTOR,

B2 lOl DH IOB 50 /III 52 83 I02 7' 5 M RRIs HIL I03", 104' I09 I06 108' 8 BY a ATTORNEY Dec. 29, 1959 M; PHILIP 2,918,810

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING Filed Nov; 8, 1956 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR I 1 BY Aw fl W A N LvON ATTORNEY United States Patent METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING Morris Philip,Bronzr, N.Y.

Application November 8, 1956, Serial No. 621,157

31 Claims. (Cl. 66-88) The present invention relates to straight bar knitting and more particularly to methods of and apparatus for selectively knitting in plain or rib fashion with straight bar knitting equipment and the resultant fabric.

The term straight bar knitting as used herein refers to knitting in which a line of needles is fixed to a support termed a needle bar for movement in unison. ln the knitting of plain or jersey fabric, a single needle bar is used whereas, in the production of rib knitted fabrics, a pair of needle bars is employed with needles in each bar positioned to cooperate with the needles in the other bar so that the yarn loops may be cast ofi in opposite directions. I

In accordance with conventional straight bar knitting, a yarn guide is passed across the machine and sinkers and/ or dividers are actuated to press the yarn up against the needles. The, needles used are Beard need les,. e.g. spring needles, and are not equipped with latches. The Beards or springs are then closed over the fresh yarn and the previous yarn loop is cast off as the needles retract while sliding against a presser bar, the Beards or springs being held closed by the bar so that the loops previously knitted will cast off. In this manner, knitting is performed a course at a time with all of the needles being projected andretracted by movement of the needle bar.

In the production of sweaters, certain portions are knit plain while other portions, e.g. the cuff, are rib knit. As a result, it has been necessary to knit a portion of the product on one type of machine and then to transfer this portion manually to a second machine for completion. As will be evident,'this manual transfer from one machine to another is laborious and time consuming both in manpower and machine tie-up. Attemptshave been made to provide a single knitting machine of the straight bar type which could be easily converted back and forth between plain and rib knit. However, the prior efforts have failed to provide a satisfactory solution to this problem. I

As will be understood, in order to convert a single straight bar knitting machine from its normal jersey or plain knit operation, it is necessary to remove, nonadjacent needles, e.g. alternate needles, from thissingle straight bar and to replace the needles which have been removed by corresponding needles on a second needle bar positioned so that the needles of the second bar will oppose and cooperate with the needleson the first bar. This removal of some of the needles on one of the bars and their replacement by suitably positioned needles on a second cooperating needle bar is a difficult matter and has never been previously satisfactorily accomplished.

. In accordance with the invention, non-adjacent, e.g. alternate, needles are mounted on two separate bars and the needles on one of these bars are bent to mesh with the needles of the other bar so that the two bars can be tied together and projected and retracted as a unit to produce plain or jersey knit with the needles on both of the needle bars. Then, when desired, one of the two Patented Dec. 29,, 1 959 bars is swungin a direction away from the knitted prodnot being produced until the needles of the bar which is moved are in position to oppose the needles of the other bar (a swing of about 2 70). During this swinging movement, the bar being moved traverses a path which first disengages the needles of the two bars. While the needlesare disengaged, the needles of the bar being moved are rotated 180. When the swinging movement has been completed to place the needles of the two bars in position for rib knitting,the needlev rotation has also taken place and the repositioned needles are readyto cooperate for the production of rib knitted fabric. I

As will be evident, when the repositioned bar is re-' turned to its original position and the needles thereof again rotated 180, the knitting of plain or jersey fabric may be resumed. I I I As will be evident from thedescription below, when the movable needle bar is rotated to convert from plain to rib knitting and vice versa, the. loop carried by each needle of the movable bar will be twisted. Thus there will be produced a knitted fabriehaving a plainknit portion including a plurality of courses defining a plurality of obverse Wale sections facing one side ,of the fabric, and a rib knit portion-including a plurality of courses defining a plurality ofalternating obverse andreverse walesectionsin alignmentwith the obverse Wale sections of the plain knit portion, the reverse wale sections facing-the opposite side of the fabric. More particularly, the loop; between each reverse Wale section and the corresponding aligned obverse wale' section will be twisted since,,said twistedloopconstitutesthe'first loop of the reverse wale section when converting from plain knit to rib; knit, orfthe firstloop of the corresponding aligned obverse wale' section'when converting from rib knit to plain knit. v I '1h ei n'vention will now 'be more fully described in con: junction with the accompanying drawings in which:

.Fig. 1 is a largely schematic sectional elevation illustrating the manner in whichneedles can be removed from a needle bar and repositioned'in order to convert from the production of jersey knit fabric to the production of rib knit fabric; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic front elevation showing the manner in which the needles are rotated as the swingable needle bar is moved from a plain or.- jersey knit positionj Fig. 2 and shows the mounting of the swingable needle '7 bar; Fig.4 is a cross-section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2, and showing the mounting ofthe rack-shifting earn and the supporting means therefor;

Figs. 5-11, 11A and 12 illustrate a preferred format the invention particularly adapted for utilization in the automatic full-fashioning of sweaters having 1 a jb b tomand a jersey body; I 5. 1

i Fig. 5 is a'diagrammatic partial sectional view illusltrating .the jersey knit position;

i Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 and showing both of the needle bars pivoted away from ,the sinkers, 'dividers,"presser-bar, etc., to permit the movement of the movable bar without interfering 'with the sinkers, dividers, etc.;

-.Fig.,.7 is a view similar to Fig. 6v and showing-the movable needle bar during the swinging movement thereof;

Fig. ,8 isa further view similar; to Fig. 7 and'showing the movable needle bar at the completion ,of its swing- I Fig. 2 iii the.

3 the needle bars after the same have been pivoted back into the knitting position, the rib knitting position being illustrated in this view;

Fig. is a partial front elevation illustrating a struc ture by which the needle bars are pivoted to and from knitting position and showing the manner in which the rear extremity of the needles on the movable needle bar are supported for rotational movement;

Figs. 11 and 11A are partial diagrammatic views illustrating the manner in which the movable needle bar is maintained at the outer extremity of the arm carrying the same during the swinging movement of this arm and how the movable needle bar is released when the movable needle bar becomes interengaged with recipro cating means for projecting and retracting the same;

Figs. 12-14 are detailed views showing the manner in which the needle rotation bar functions to rotate the needles of the movable needle bar;

Fig. 12 is a partial bottom view showing one position of the needle rotation bar;

Fig. 13 is a further partial bottom view similar to Fig. 12 and showing the needle rotation bar in a second position corresponding to a 180 rotation of the needles from the position shown in Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a detailed partial front elevation showing the structural features of the rotatable needles and the manner in which these needles are mounted;

Fig. 15 is a plan view of the prior art fabric having plain knit portions and rib knit portions; and

Fig. 16 is a plan view of the fabric of the present invention wherein is shown the twisted stitch connecting the reverse wale sections with the aligned obverse wale sections of the plain knit portion of the fabric.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, the numerals 1t) and 11 designate respectively a swingably mounted needle bar and a stationary needle bar. Both the swingable needle bar 11) and the stationary needle bar 11 are reciprocable in the direction of the knitting needles secured thereto, that is, in the direction the needles point. Thus, the stationary bar 11 can be moved in the direction of needles 13 and the swingable bar 10 can be moved in the direction of needles 12. This is conventional in straight bar knitting and the details of construction have been omitted since these are old and well known. The mounting of the swingable bar 10 to permit both swinging movement and reciprocation in the direction of the needles 12 is not conventional and will be discussed hereinafter and with reference to Fig. 2.

When both of the needle bars 111 and 11 are fitted together as in the lefthand portion of Fig. 1, plain or jersey knit fabric will be produced. More particularly, the rear of the bar 10 interfits with the upper surface of the bar 11 (rib 14 fits within recess 15) and, as a result, reciprocation of the bar 11 as shown by arrow 16 results in the simultaneous reciprocation of the bar 10. Thus, the bar 11 is always reciprocated and, without any change in mechanism, the presence of bar 10 will pro vide a combination functioning as a single needle bar containing non-adjacent, e.g. alternate, needles 12 and 13. This is conventional plain knitting as it is customarily practiced with sinkers and dividers indicated generically by numeral 17 and shown in phantom being positioned and operated in conventional fashion to press the yarn aga'nst the needles and to draw the stitch to the length desired. There is also present the conventional presser bar 18, also shown in phantom. There may also be present conventional knock-over bars 18' and 18" which function to move the yarn loop forwardly of the needles 12 and 13 as these needles retract in order to facilitate casting off of the yarn loop.

it is desired to point out that the sinkers, the dividers and the presser bar form no part of the present invention with the except on that these parts are moved during conversion from plain to rib knitting or vice versa to permit the swinging movement of the bar 10 and needles 12 and are returned to normal position when the swinging movement has been completed. Since any means for moving the sinkers, dividers and presser bar may be used, specific means are not shown, the movement desired being indicated by the double-ended arrow 19 in Fig. 1. It will be seen that the knock-over bars 18' and 18 do not interfere with the swinging movement of the bar 10 and the needles 12.

The center of rotation of the needle bar 10 is positioned remote from the needle 12 and is preferably in line with the needles 12 at a point beyond the forward extremity of the needles when these needles are in the retracted position as shown in elevation in Fig. 1. Preferably, the needles 12 are rotated during the swinging movement of bar 10, and this requires the needles 12 to be free of the needles 13 during the said swinging movement to permit rotation of the needles 12. Of course, the swinging movement of the bar 10 must be such that the needles 12 are finally positioned at a location appropriate for cooperative rib knitting. Location of the center of rotation as shown in Fig. 1 is preferred.

The needles 13 are mounted in the bar 11 in conventional fashion. The needles 12, however, must be mounted for rotation each about its longitudinal axis and this makes it preferable to mount these needles 12 each in a cylindrical shaft 20 which shafts are rotatably mount ed in cylindrical bores 21 along the length of the bar 10. The shafts 20 have a collar 22 at their forward end, the collar 22 cooperating with the spur gear 23 to retain the needles 12 in fixed longitudinal position with respect to the bar 10.

A rack 24 is mounted for transverse sliding movement with respect to the bar 10. More particularly, the rack 24 is provided with teeth 25 meshing with the spur gears 23 and the base of the rack 24 is T shaped as indicated at 26 and this 1' shaped base rides in the T shaped groove 27 in the upper surface of the bar 10. As will be appreciated, the rack 24 is normally stationary as are the shafts 20 and the needles 12. However, if the rack 24 is moved transversely with respect to the needle bar 10, then the teeth 25 of the rack 24 will move past the spur gears 23 and rotate the shafts 20 and the needles 12.

The swinging movement of the needle bar 10 is diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 1 by the double-ended curved arrows 28 and the two terminal positions of the bar 10 and needles 12 is shown in full lines. The horizontal terminal position in which the bars 11 and 11 combine to constitute a single needle bar has already been discussed. The vertical position of bar 10 and needles 12 is shown at the bottom of Fig. 1 after the bar 10 has been swung through an arc of about'270". Means for vertically reciprocating the needle bar 10 when the bar 141 is in position for rib knitting at the bottom of Fig. 1 is diagrammatically indicated by the arrow 29. Any means may be used for this reciprocation and specific means are not shown in Fig. 1.

The projeced positions of needles 12 and 13 are shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 so that the manner in which the needles cooperate for rib knitting will be apparent. Only a single settof sinkers and dividers 17 and a single pressoff bar 18 is required although, as previously indicated, this formsno part of the invention and many conventional arrangements are well known.

An intermediate position in the swinging movement of the bar 10 is also shown in Fig. 1 and the arrow 23 indicates rotation of the needle 12. Preferably, the rack 24 is moved during the swinging movement and hence, rotation of needle 12 is automatic and is completed before the terminal position is reached. While the rack 24 can be moved atany time that the needles 12 are free of the needles 13, the automatic motion of rack 24 to be later described serves to simplify the equipment which is needed.

Referring more particularly toFigs. 2, 3 and 4, the swingable needle bar is provided with end projections 10' which are each slidingly mounted in a slot 30 which is formed in a swingably mounted arm 31. As can be seen with particular clarity in Fig. 2, there are a pair of arms 31 and these are mounted on axially aligned shafts 32 and 33 which are rotated in unison. This can be accomplished by separately rotating each of the shafts 32 and 33. Preferably, and as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the arms 31 are linked together by means of a cross bar 34. Pins 35 are secured to the terminal extensions 10' of the swingable needle bar 10 to prevent movement of the bar 10 along the length thereof.

As can be seen in Fig. 2, the arms 31 are positioned beyond the stationary needle bar -11 to prevent interference therewith. As previously indicated, it is desired to swing or otherwise move the swingable needle bar 10 through an arc of approximately 270 and accordingly, the arms 31 are swung through this same angle and stop members 36 and 37 are employed to limit the movement of the arms 31.

Movement of the rack 24 is achieved by means of the annular earns 38 and 39 which are identically formed and positioned so that as the arms 31 move through the are 28, the rack 24 is confined between the cams 38 and 39 so that the path defined between the earns 38 and 39 is followed by the rack 24. As will be apparent, when the rack 24 is stationary, the needles 12 are maintained in a particular rotational position whereas if the rack 24 is moved a predetermined lateral distance with respect to the swingable needle bar 10, the teeth 25 of the rack 24 will engage the spur gears 23 and cause a corresponding rotation of the needles 12.

As can be seen in Figs. 2 and 4, the annular cams 38 and 39 are vertical with the exception of a portion 40 in which the cams 38 and 39 move toward the right in Fig. 2 and with the further exception of a portion 41 in which the cams 38 and 39 return to their original lateral positions.

The portions 41 are located in a section of the cams 38 and 39 which is not traversed by the rack 24. The portions 40 are located in a section of the earns 38 and 39 which is contacted by the rack 24 as the needle bar 10 is swung over the arc 28. Therefore, as the arms 31 move through the arc 28 to convey or swing the swingable needle bar 10 from the plain knit position adjacent the stationary needle bar 11 to the rib knit position, the rack 24 is moved to the right in Fig. 2 and the needles 12 are rotated 180 as indicated by the arrow 28' in Fig. 1.

In the same manner, the return of the swingable needle bar 10 to the plain knit position is accompanied by the reverse action of the cams 38 and 39 to shift the rack 24 to the left in Fig. 2 and thereby rotate the needles 12 180 so that these needles 12 once again resume their initial position in which the hooks thereof face in the same direction as the hooks of the needles 13.

Figure 3 illustrates a preferred mounting of the needle bar 10 in the slots 30 of the arms 31. Specifically, the extensions 10 are resiliently biased toward the outer extremity of the slots 30 by means of a compression spring 42 which is disposed upon pins 43 and 44 on the inner face of the extension 10 and the inner, end of the arm 31 respectively. In this manner, the needle bar 10 is maintained in retracted position except when the bar 10 interengages with the bar 11 and is reciprocated by the mechanism 16 or when the bar 10 is being reciprocated by the mechanism 29. As a result, it is preferred to move the bar 10 when the bar 11 is retracted and the spring 42 maintains the bar 10 in retracted position so that the bars 10 and 11 can be easily engaged and disengaged.

As will be apparent, the sinkers, dividers and pressofi bar have been omitted from Fig. 2 for the purpose of clarity. As will be understood, the above mentioned mechanisms are approximately of the same width as the gtcedle bar 11 and hence these mechanisms can fit between the annular earns 38 and 39 so that these mechanisms may operate when the machine is knitting in either the plain knit or the rib knit position and so that these mecha: nisms may be withdrawn from the path of the bar 10 and the rack 24 as these are swung through the are 28 and then returned after the bar 10 has been repositioned as desired.

Fig. 2 does not show the supports for the earns 38 and 39 or for the stop members 36 and 37. A suitable support is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 4 where it is identified by the numeral 45. The cams 38 and 39 can be Welded to the support 45 and the stop members 36 and 37 are supported on arms 46 and 47 respectively which are welded or brazed at one end to the support 45 and at the other end to the stop member connected thereto.

As will be appreciated, the present invention is adaptable to any straight bar knitting machine in that the manner in which the yarn feeding means, the sinkers and dividers, if used, the presser bar for holding the Beards against the needle as the needle is retracted and the means for assisting in the cast off of the yarn loops may remain substantially unchanged. Accordingly, since suitable structure for both plain and rib knitting utilizing a straight bar support for the needles are well known and since the present invention is in no Way dependent upon these structures, they have only been schematically represented. Illustrative specific structure is shown in the US. patent to Barratt and Sibbald No. 774,464 dated November 8, 1904. 1

When the swinging movement is completed, and as previously indicated, the dividers, the sinkers, and the presser bar or bars are returned to their normal operative positions.

It will be appreciated that the various mechanisms which must be moved out of the path of the needle bar 10 and the rack 24 can be manually moved away and returned. It is obviously desirable to eifect this withdrawal and return in an automatic manner and many structures for doing this will be immediately apparent and form no part of the invention.

The invention has been illustrated in Figs. 1-4 by reference to a machine in which the needle bar 11 is positioned so that the needles 13 thereof are horizontal so that a jersey fabric is produced with horizontal needles and the needle bar 10 moves from a horizontal position adjacent the bar 11 to a vertical position for rib knitting. This is not a limitation of the invention which can be practiced with equal facility irrespective of the plane of the needles 13. Thus, the needle bar 11 in Fig. 1 can be positioned so that the needles 13 thereof are vertical. In this instance, the needle bar 10 will move between a vertical position adjacent the needle bar 11 for the production of plain knit fabric to a horizontal position for the production of rib knit fabric.

It is desired to point out that the embodiments of Figs. 1-4, while they clearly illustrate the new knitting action which is achieved by the invention, do not represent the best form of the invention and many structural variations may be made therein without changing the new method of knitting which is disclosed therein.

In Figs. 5-12, there is shown another and preferred embodiment of the invention which is particularly adapted for use in the full fashioning of sweaters having a jersey body and a rib bottom. At present, the full fashioning of the jersey body of a sweater using a single needle bar having vertically disposed needles thereon is well known and is conventional. However, the provision of a rib bottom on this sweater requires that the rib bottom be separately made on a second machine and placed upon the needles of the jersey full fashioning machine one loop at a time. This is obviously time consuming and unacceptable.

At the present time, machines used in the full fashioning of jersey sweaters are incapable of also knitting a rib bottom and the provision of even an imitation rib bottom which is incapable of providing a true rib function is viewed as a major contribution in the art of automatic machinery for the full fashioning of sweaters.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 5, there is shown a form of the invention particularly adapted for use in conventional machines adapted for the ful fashioning of sweaters. Fig. shows the plain knit position with the movable needle bar 50 positioned adjacent the stationary needle bar 51 with the needles 52 of the bar 50 and needles 53 of the bar 51 meshing in a vertical plane to cooperate with the sinkers and dividers 54, the presser bar 55 and the knock-over bar 56 in the production of plain or jersey fabric.

It will be observed that the movable bar 50 is provided with a rib 57 which is fitted within a groove 53 in the bar 51 so that reciprocation of the bar 51 will be transmitted to the bar 50 to project and retract the needles 52 and 53 as a single unitary line of needles. To this end, the bar 59 is slidingly mounted in a guide arm 59 and is freely movable in the slot 60 thereof. In this regard, it will be noted that the spring 42 of the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1-4 has been eliminated and this is advantageous since the spring 42 was compressed and expanded with each reciprocation of the needle bar 10. Accordingly, elimination of the spring 42 eliminates the wear, possibility of breakage and the necessity of replacing the spring 42. The structure used in the preferred form of the invention in place of the spring 42 for the purpose of aligning the rib 57 with the groove 58 will be later discussed.

As in the form of the invention presented in Figs. 1-4, the guide arm 59 corresponds to the guide arm 31 and the guide arm 59 swings about a shaft 61 which moves the arm 59 and hence the bar 50 in a direction away from the knitted product through an arc of approximately 270, or more accurately stated, in a direction away from one side and toward the other side of the knitted product.

However, the shaft 61 in the preferred form of the invention is itself mounted for pivotal movement away from the sinkers, dividers, presser bar and other struc tures used in the conventional full-fashioning operation, said other structures being normally positioned in the upper righthand quadrant of Fig. 5. These other struc tures are not shown since they would unduly complicate the drawings and description of the invention and since they are wholly conventional and well known in the art.

More particularly, the shaft 61 is moved and the bars 50 and 51 are moved with it so that the arm 59 and the bar 50 as well as the structure used for rotating the needles 52 may be swung through an are which passes the sinkers, dividers, presser bar, etc. without interfering therewith. As will be understood, both of the needles 52 and 53 are connected with the projecting loops of the knitted product and hence the hooks of the needles 52 and 53 cannot, under any circumstances, become widely spaced.

Specifically, shaft 61 is mounted for rotation on the upper end of a pivotable arm 62 which is mounted for pivotal movement on the shaft 63 (not visible in Fig. 5) which is unconnected with a shaft 64 (the shaft 63 being behind the shaft 64 in Fig. 5). The mounting of the bar 59 on the shaft 61 and the mounting of the shaft 61 on the arm 62 is best seen in Fig. where both shafts 63 and 64 are visible.

The shaft 64 projects from a pivotal bar 65 at the upper end of which the needle bar 51 is fixedly positioned. Pivotably secured to the shaft 64- is a lever 66, the lever 66 being fulcrumed at 67 and provided with a projecting pin 68 upon which is rotatably mounted a roller 69. A cam 70 carried by a shaft 71 bears against roller 69 so that rotation of shaft 71 will cause the cam '70 to oscillate the lever 66 against the tension of spring 72 to thereby raise and lower the arm 65 and reciprocate the bar 51 and its needles 53. it will be understood that any means for positively moving the bar 65 up and down with the proper timing while still permitting pivotal movement thereof can be employed. It will also be appreciated that the needle bar 51 is reciprocated irrespective of the presence of needle bar 50 and that when the needle bar 50 is adjacent the needle bar 51, as in the plain knit position shown in Fig. 5, reciprocation of the bar 65 will reciprocate both of the needles 52 and 53 in unison.

T he arm 62 and the bar 65 are tied together in a manner permitting the independent up and down reciprocation of the bar 65 and which yet forces the bar 65 to pivot with the arm 62 whenever the latter is moved. It will first be noted that shafts 63 and 64, although unconnected, are coaxial when bar 65 is fully retracted. Further, bar 65 and arm 62 are linked togcther so that the sidewise movement of the one will cause the sidewise movement of the other. This can be accomplished in any number of ways, the use of a pin 73 extending from the bar 65 and into an elongated slot 73 which extends along the length of the arm 62 being illustrated. Rollers are preferably mounted for rotation at the end of the pin 73 to reduce friction between the pin 73 and the slot 73.

The arm 62 is provided with a depending tail portion 74 which extends beneath the shaft 63. This tail portion 74 carries a roller 75 which bears against a wheel 76 which is eccentrically mounted on the shaft 77. As will be evident, rotation of shaft 77 will cause the wheel 76 to engage the roller 75 to force the tail away from the shaft 77 against the tension of spring 78 to thereby cause the arm 62 to pivot and carry with it the bar 65. In this manner, both of the needle bars 50 and 51, the shaft 61 and the guide arm 59 can be pivoted from the knitting position shown in Fig. 5 to a disengaged position shown in Fig. 6 where the hooks of the needles 52 and 53 remain closely adjacent one another with both of these hooks being greatly spaced from the sinkers, dividers, presser bar as well as the full fashioning structure which may be present in the upper righthand quadrant of Fig. 5. The pivoted position of the arm 62 is shown in Fig. 6 from which it will be seen that the knockover bars which are carried by the bar 65 are also pivoted away from the upper righthand quadrant of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 shows the swinging movement of the guide arm 59 and illustrates the fact that there is no interference with the sinkers, dividers and presser bar, etc. It will lastly be seen in Figs. 57 that there is a structure generically designated by the numeral 79 which functions to reciprocate the needle bar 50 when this needle bar 50 reaches its rib knit position. As will be evident, the reciprocating mechanism 79 is similar to that used for reciprocating the needle bar 51 and primed numerals are used to denote parts of the reciprocating mechanism '79 which correspond with like parts of the mechanism used to reciprocate the needle bar 51. Thus, mechanism 79 includes a pivotal bar 65 which is pivoted upwardly at the same time that the arm 62 is pivoted so that the reciprocating mechanism 79 does not interfere with the swinging movement of the arm 59 with its movable needle bar 50. A grasping head 80 is carried by the bar 65' to engage the rib 57.

As can be seen in Figs. 5, 7, 8 and 9, the bar 65 is pivotally connected at 64 with a lever 66, this lever being fulcrumed at 67' and provided with a pin 68 carrying a roller 69'. The roller 69' is engaged by a cam 70' carried by shaft 71 and the lever 66' is biased against the cam by spring 72.

It will be understood that both of the reciprocating mechanisms discussed to this point have been diagram matically set forth since these details form no part of the invention.

Referring particularly to Fig. 7, the needles 52 are straight and each is mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis. These needles 52 are preferably round in cross-section and the rear of the needles behind the needle bar 50 are bent at an angle (preferably about 105 and the rear extremities of the needles 52 are rotatably mounted in a needle rotation bar 81. As will later more fully appear, the needle rotation bar 81 is moved to rotate the needles 52 180 by means including a gear 82. The bent portion of the needles 52 is indicated by the numeral 83.

The details of construction of the needle rotation bar 81 and the gear 82 as well as the manner in which these parts cooperate to rotate the needles 52 will be more fully described hereinafter. For the present, and with particular reference to Fig. 7, it will be understood that the gear 82 engages the rack 84 as the arm 59 is swung through its arc of 270 and that the engagement of the rack with the gear 82 causes the gear 82 to be rotated 180 and the rotation of the gear 82 is transmitted to the needles 52.

Fig. 8 shows the completion of the swinging movement of the guide arm 59 through its arc of 270. When the swinging movement of the guide arm 59 has been completed and the position shown in Fig. 8 assumed, the arm 62 and the bars 65 and 65' can be pivoted back to their original knitting position to provide the structure shown in Fig. 9 which is the rib knitting position.

To briefly summarize the operation of the machine, the knitting of a sweater is commenced with the machine positioned as in Fig. 9 with both of the needle bars 50 and 51 being reciprocated in conventional manner and in conjunction with the movement of the sinkers, the dividers, the presser bar 55 and the knock-over bar 88 (which is reciprocated'by means not shown).

In this fashion, rib knitting is produced in conventional manner until the rib bottom of the sweater has been completed. The shafts 77 and 77' are then rotated to turn the cams 76 and 76 which bear against rollers 75 and 75' and pivot the bars 65 and 65 as well as the arm 62 with its shaft 61 into the position shown in Fig. 8. The shaft 61 is then rotated and the guide arm 59 moves through the path shown in Fig. 7 until an arc of 270 is completed and the position shown in Fig. 6 is reached and then the shafts 77 and 77' are again rotated to rotate the wheels 76 and 76' and permit the springs 78 and 87' to return the bars 65 and 65' and the arm 62 with the shaft 61 to the jersey knitting position shown in Fig. 5.

Knitting can then be resumed and the knitted product produced by the meshed vertical needles 52 and 63 will be a jersey fabric and this can be full fashioned by suitable means positioned in the upper righthand quadrant of Fig. to form the jersey body of the sweater, said sweater having an integral rib bottom which has been formed by a single automatically operated mechanism.

When the jersey body has been completed, the mechanism is again moved through the sequence of Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 to return the needles 52 to their rib knit position of Fig. 9 whereby the rib bottom of another sweater can be knitted.

It is apparent that in the illustrated embodiments the movable needle bar is rotated angularly about an axis substantially along the points of stitch formation, points of stitch formation referring to what would be the points of stitch formation if the needles were knitting with the bars in the position they are in immediately prior to the rotation of the movable needle bar. If prior to rotation of the movable needle bar the sinkers, dividers, et cetera, are moved as indicated by the double ended arrow 19 in Fig. 1 the axis of rotation would, of course, be substantially along the points of stitch formation during the actual knitting operation. On the other hand, in the modification shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 8 wherein both needle bars and shaft 61 are moved away from the sinkers 54 prior to rotation of the movable needle bar, the axis of rotation is substantially co-axial with shaft 61', or substantially along the points" of stitch formation if the needles were knitting in this position, that is, in the position shown in Figs. 6 or 8. In other words, when both bars are moved away from the sinkers the points of stitch formation move with the bars away from the sinkers.

As previously indicated, a feature of the form of the invention shown in Figs. 5-10 is the elimination of the spring 42. The structure used in place of the spring 42 is illustrated in Figs. 11 and 11A.

In Fig. 11, the arm 59 is moving through its arc to bring the movable needle bar 50 into engagement with the stationary needle bar 51. During the swinging of the needle bar 50, it is desired to position the needle bar 50 at the outer extremity of the slot 60 so that the rib 57 will mesh with the recess 58 in the needle bar 51 when the needle bars 50 and 51 meet.

As can be seen in Figs. 10 and 11, a shaft is rotatably mounted in the arm 59 and the shaft 90 carries at each end thereof a projection 91 and 92. The projection 92 is positioned in the path of the needle bar 50 and the shaft 90 is rotatably biased by suitable means, such as the torsion spring 93 to urgethe projection 92 against the needle bar 50 to normally retain this bar at the outer extremity of the slot 60.

The projection 91 lies in the path of an abutment 94 which is carried by the stationary needle bar 51. Fig. 11 shows the projection 91 approaching the abutment 94.

As the rib 57 enters the recess 58, the projection 91 is moved by the abutment 94 until, when the rib 57 is fully inserted, the movement of the projection 91 has rotated shaft 90 to move the projection 92 out of the path of the needle bar 50. In this way, the needle bars 50 and 51 can be reciprocated together and the torsion spring 93 is not actuated except when the bars 50 and 51 are brought together and separated. An abutment similar to the abutment 94 depends downwardly from the reciprocating means 79 so that the torsion spring 93 is also compressed and released when the bar 50 engages and moves away from the means 79.

The engaged position in which the projection 92 has been pivoted to free the bar 50 is shown in Fig. 11A.

The form of the invention shown in Figs. 5-10 also includes a simplified and effective mechanism for rotating the needles 52. As previously indicated, the rear of the needles 52 are bent at 83 and the rear extremities of the needles 52 are rotatably lodged in a needle rotation bar 81. As a result, when the needle rotation bar 81 is swung through the are shown in Fig. 12, the needles 52 are rotated 180. The swinging of the needle rotation bar 81 is effected by pivotally mounting the same at one end thereof on the gear 82 and at the other end thereof on the idler wheel 82. The gear 82 rotates on shaft 101 and the wheel 82' rotates on shaft 102. The bar 81 is eccentrically mounted as indicated at 103 and 103'. The bar 81 is biased in one direction into engagement with set screws 104 and 104', the spring biasing means being constituted by tension springs 105 and 106 which are strung between post 107 on the bar 81 and posts 108 and 108' on the needle bar 50.

The gear 32 is provided with teeth 109. The purpose of the teeth 109 is to engage the rack 84 to move the bar 81 past dead center at which point springs 105 and 106 force the bar 81 against the set screws 104 and 104' to complete the 180 rotation of the needles 52. Preferably, teeth 109 extend approximately one-half way around the gear 82.

Means are preferably provided to force the idler wheel 82' to rotate with the gear 82 since the rotation bar 81 cannot be entirely relied upon for this purpose. Referring to Figs. 12 and 13, the gear 82 carries a wheel 110 and a belt 111 interconnects the wheels 82 and 110 to force the idler wheel 82' to rotate with the gean 82. As can be seen, Fig. 12 represents one rotated pollll sition of the needles 52 in which the rotation bar 81 is stopped by the set screw 104 while Fig. 13 represents the other position of the needles 52 in which the hooks thereof have been rotated 180 and the rotation bar 81 rests against the set screw 104.

The structure of the needles 52 and the manner in which these needles are rotated using the bent portions 83 thereof as crank portions is most clearly seen in the enlarged detail showing in Fig. 14. As is here seen, the needles 52 are rotatably mounted in the needle bar 50 and the rear extremities of the needles rotatabiy journaled in bores 112 in the rotation bar 81. The bend in the needles 52 is greater than 90, e.g. 105 so that the needles 52 can be closely positioned while the portions 83 thereof may overlap one another. If desired, the needles 52 may be flattened as indicated at 113, to facilitate positioning and retention of the needles in the needle bar.

When producing a fabric utilizing the prior art machine and method as described above wherein the rib portion is knitted on one type of machine and then this portion is transferred to another type of machine to complete the plain knit portion, a fabric is produced which has the structure shown in Fig. 15.

With reference to this figure, the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G represent a plurality of courses of the fabric, course A being the last plain knit course, B, C, D and E being the rib knit courses, and F and G being the plain knit courses continuing after the rib knit courses have been completed. These courses define the fabric having the Wales 201, 202, 203, 204 and 205, wales 201, 203 and 205 being all plain knit wales, each of said wales, and the loops therein, facing one side of the fabric. Wales 202 and 204 are wales which include both rib knit courses or loops defining rib or reversed knit wale sections and plain knit courses or loops defining plain knit wale sections. More particularly, loops or stitches 207, 208, 209, and 210 are rib knit, that is, the loops face the side of the fabric opposite that which the plain knit loops 206 and 211 face. It is readily apparent that the loops 207 and 211 which represent the first loop of the rib knit portion and the plain knit portion respectively, are twisted, that is, the yarn forming one side of the loop does not cross over yarn forming the other side of the loop.

On the contrary, in the fabric of the present invention, it is evident that because of the rotation of the movable needle bar from the position shown in Fig. 5 to the position shown in Fig. 9 and vice versa, the loop positioned around the movable needle will be twisted during each rotation of the needle bar.

This twisted loop characterizes the structure of the novel fabric of the present invention. Referring more particularly to Fig. 16 which shows the novel fabric of the present invention, the fabric has a plurality of courses, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G which correspond respectively to the courses A-G of Fig. 15. The series of courses below and including course A define a knit portion of the fabric, the courses B-E define a rib knit portion of the fabric and the portions F, G, etc., define a second plain knit portion of the fabric. This novel fabric exhibits a plurality of wales 202-205 which correspond to 202-205 of Fig. 15, that is, wales 201, 203 and 205' are plain knit and wales 202 and 204 have plain knit and rib knit sections.

In this figure, loop 207 is the loop which is on the movable needle as the needle bar rotates from the position shown in Fig. 5 to the position shown in Fig. 9. In other Words, loop 207 is the first loop of the rib portion and as shown in the figure, loop 207 is twisted, the yarn constituting one side of said loop, crossing the yarn of the other side of said loop, at 212. Loops 208, 209 and 210' each represent succeeding loops or courses of the rib knit portion.

Asthe movable needle bar is rotated from the position shown in Fig. 9 to that shown in Fig. 5, that is, when converting from rib knit to plain knit, loop 211 is on the movable needle. Again because of the rotation of the movable needle bar, loop 211 is twisted, the yarns forming the two sides of the loop crossing at 213.

Thus it is seen that the present invention provides a fabric wherein at least one wale, such as 204, has both plain knit courses and adjacent rib knit courses with the plain knit course adjacent a rib knit course being joined thereto by a twisted loop. In other words, the knitted fabric of the present invention includes a plain knit portion including a plurality of courses defining a plurality of obverse Wale sections facing one side of said fabric and a rib knit portion including a plurality of courses defining a plurality of alternating obverse wale sections and reverse wale sections in alignment with the obverse wale sections of the first portion, the reverse wale sections facing the opposite side of the fabric and a twisted loop between each reverse wale section and a corresponding aligned obverse wale section in said first portion. It is apparent that the loops 206-2;l1 are all aligned and in fact a single wale with sections of the wale facing opposite sides of the fabric.

It is readily apparent that wale 204, for example, includes two aligned interengaged loops 206', 207, in which the forwardrnost loop 207 is twisted and faces the opposite side of the fabric from that faced by the other loops. Similarly, forwardmost loop 211' of the pair of aligned interengaged loops 210 and 211 is twisted. Thus in each instance the loop which forms the first course of the rib or plain knit portion of the fabric is twisted, as Well as facing the opposite side of the fabric than does its preceding loop.

It will be understood that the present invention can be performed using various structures and the full scope of the invention is defined in the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for straight bar knitting, a first needle bar having a plurality of knitting needles mounted thereon with at least the forward portions of said needles being positioned in a common plane. a movably mounted needle bar having a plurality of knitting needles mounted thereon with at least the forward portions of said needles being positioned in a common plane, said movably mounted needle bar being movable from a first position in which the needles of both of said bars mesh together to form a single line of needles adapted to produce plain knitted fabric to a second position in which the needles of said bars oppose one another to produce rib knitted fabric, means to reciprocate both of said bars together in the direction said needles point when said movably mounted needle bar is in said first position, means to reciprocate said movably mounted needle bar in the direction its needles point when said movably mounted needle bar is in said second position, means to move said movably mounted needle bar from said first to said second position, and means to rotate the needles of said movably mounted needle bar approximately 2. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 1 in which said movable mounted needle bar is mounted for swinging movement about a center of rotation beyond the termination of the needles thereof when said needles are in retracted position.

3. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 1 in which said means for moving said movably mounted needle bar from said first to said second position is constituted by a pair of swingably mounted arms, said movably mounted needle bar being mounted in said arms for sliding movement along the length thereof.

4. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 3 in which means are provided for retaining said movably mounted needle bar at the outer extremity of said swingably mounted arms while said movably mounted needle bar is moved between said first and said second position.

5. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 1 in which said means to rotate the needles of said movably mounted needle bar is operative to eflect said rotation as said movably mounted needle bar is moved between said first and said second positions.

6. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 5 in which the needles of said movably mounted needle bar are provided with a bent portion adjacent the rear end thereof and the said rear end is rotatably mounted in a needle rotation bar carried by said movably mounted needle bar, said needle rotation ban being mounted to move through an arcuate path to move the rear end of said last named needles and to thereby rotate said needles.

7. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 6 in which said needle rotation bar is resiliently,

biased toward a pair of laterally spaced adjustable abutments.

8. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 1 in which said movably mounted needle bar is provided with a toothed rack slidably mounted thereon for movement along the length thereof and the needles of said movably mounted needle bar are mounted in shafts provided with gear means engaging the teeth of said rack whereby movement of said rack along the length of said bar is efiective to rotate said needles.

9. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 8 in which said rack is engaged by at least one annular cam whereby movement of said movably mounted needle bar is effective to produce a predetermined movement of said rack.

v10. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 1 in which said movably mounted needle bar is interengageable with said first needle bar whereby said reciprocation of said first needle bar results in the simultaneous reciprocation of both of said needle bars when said movably mounted needle bar is interengaged with said first needle bar in said first position.

11. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 1 in which said second position of said movably mounted needle bar is rotationally disposed approximately 270 from said first position of said movably mounted needle bar.

12. In apparatus for full-fashioning sweaters by straight bar knitting, a first needle bar having a plurality of knitting needles mounted thereon with at least the forward portions of said needles being positioned in a common plane, a movably mounted needle bar having a plurality, of knitting needles mounted thereon with at least the forward portions of said needles being positioned in a commonplane, a pair of swingably mounted arms, said movably mounted needle bar being mounted in said arms for sliding movement along the length thereof, said arm being swingable from a first position in which the needles of both of said bars mesh together to form a single line of needles adapted to produce plain knitted fabric to a second position in which the needles of said bars oppose one another to produce rib knitted fabric, means to reciprocate said first needle bar, said last named means being pivotable away from said movably mounted needle bar when the same is adjacent said first needle bar, a pivotably mounted bar for carrying said swingably mounted arms, said pivotably mounted bar being pivotable together with said means for reciprocating said first needle bar, means to swing said swingably mounted arms, means to reciprocate said movably mounted needle bar in the direction the needles thereof point when the same is in the said second position and means inter-engaging said needle bars when said movably mounted needle bar is in said first position so that said needle bars will reciprocate together.

13. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 1 in which said movably mounted needle bar is moved between said first and said second positions in a direction away from one side and toward the other side of the knitted product which is produced.

14. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 1 in which said movably mounted needle bar is resiliently biased toward a retracted position of the needles thereof and said movably mounted needle bar is moved while said first needle bar is in its retracted position.

15. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 1 in which the needles of said movably mounted needle bar are straight and the portion of the needles of said first needle bar adjacent said first bar is curved so that the forward portion of both groups of needles lie in a common plane when said movably mounted needle bar is in said first position.

16. Apparatus for straight bar knitting as recited in claim 1, including means cooperating with the needles to knit the fabric, said means being not directly connected with said needle bars and normally lying in the path through which said movable needle bar takes in moving from the first position to the second position, means to move said needle bars away from said cooperating means to remove said cooperating means from said path so that said movable needle bar may be moved through its path without interference from said cooperating means. I

17. In an apparatus for knitting, a first group of needles, a second group of needles at least one of said groups being angularly movable relative to .the other group between a first knitting position and a second knitting position, the two groups of needles, when in said first position, cooperating to knit a first type of knitting pattern and when in said second position cooperating to knit a second type of knitting pattern, and means for providing relative angular movement between said groups of needles between said first position and said second position.

18. In an apparatus for straight bar knitting, a first reciprocally mounted needle bar having a plurality of knitting needles mounted thereon with at least the forward portions of said needles being positioned in a common plane, a second reciprocally mounted needle bar having a plurality of knitting needles mounted thereon with at least the forward portions of said needles being positioned in a common plane, at least one of said bars being angularly movable relative to the other bar between a first knitting position and a second knitting position, the needles of the first bar cooperating with the needles of the second bar to knit a first type of knitting pattern when the bars are in said first position and to knit a second type of knitting pattern when the bars are in said second position, and means for providing relative angular movement of said bar between said first position and said second position, the needles of both of said bars forming a single line of needles in one of said positions.

19. In an apparatus for straight bar knitting, a first needle bar having a plurality of knitting needles mounted thereon with at least the forward portions of said needles being positioned in a common plane, a movably mounted needle bar having a plurality of knitting needles mounted thereon with at least the forward portions of said needles being positioned in a common plane, said movably mounted needle bar being angularly movable from a first portion in which the needles of both of said bars form a single line of needles to produce one type of knitting pattern to a second position in which the needles of said bars oppose one another to produce a second type of knitting pattern, means to reciprocate both of said bars together in the direction said needles point when said movably mounted needle bar is in said first position, means to reciprocate said movably mounted needle bar in the direction its needles point when said movably mounted needle bar is in said second position, means to move said movably mounted needle bar from said first position to 15 said second position, and means to rotate the needles of said movably mounted needle bar.

20. A method of knitting using a plurality of needles comprising knitting one type of knitting pattern with the needles in one position, angularly moving a group of said needles relative to the remaining group of needles to another position and with the needles in said other position, knitting another type of knitting pattern, in one of said positions all of the needles forming a single line and being reciprocated as a unit and in the other position each of said groups being reciprocated as a separate unit.

21. A method of knitting using a plurality of hooked needles comprising knitting one type of knitting pattern with the needles in one position, angularly moving a group of said needles relative to the remaining group of needles to another position and with the needles in said other position, knitting another type of knitting pattern, in one of said positions all of the needles forming a single line and being reciprocated as a unit and in the other position each of said groups being reciprocated as a separate unit, the hooks on the needles facing away from the knitted product in both positions.

22. A method of knitting as recited in claim 21 wherein said one group of needles is angularly rotated approximately 270 from said one position to said other position.

23. A method of straight bar knitting utilizing at least two knitting bars each having a plurality of needles mounted thereon which comprises knitting a first type of knitting pattern with the needles of both of said bars forming a single line of needles by reciprocating both bars as a single unit, angularly moving one of said bars relative to the other of said bars, and with said bars being angularly displaced, knitting a second type of knitting pattern by reciprocating each of said bars independently.

24. A method of changing from plain to rib knitting using a plurality of simultaneously reciprocated parallel hooked needles to produce the plain knitted product which includes the steps of rotating a portion of the needles angulany about an axis substantially along the points of stitch formation in a direction away from one side and toward the other side of the knitted product to a rib knitting position and of rotating each of the needles in said portion approximately 180 about its own axis, whereby the hooks on said needles face away from the knitted product in both positions.

25. A method as recited in claim 24 wherein said portion of the needles are rotated approximately 270 about the axis substantially along the points of stitch formation.

26. A method of alternating between plain and rib knitting using a plurality of simultaneously reciprocated parallel hooked needles to produce the plain knitted prodnet which includes the steps of rotating a portion of the needles angularly about an axis substantially alongthe points of stitch formation in a direction away from one side and toward the other side of the knitted product to a rib knitting position, of rotating said portion back in the opposite direction to the plain knitting position, and of rotating each of the needles in said portion approximately 180 about its own axis once during each transition from plain to rib and from rib to plain knitting, whereby the hooks on said needles face away from the knitted product in both positions.

27. In an apparatus for knitting, a first group of needles, a second group of needles, at least one of said groups being angularly movable relative to the other group between a first knitting position and a second knitting position, the two groups of needles, when in said first position, cooperating to knit a first type of knitting pattern and when in said second position cooperating to knit a second type of knitting pattern, means for reciprocating each group of needles as a group, and means for providing relative angular movement between said groups of needles between said first position and said second position.

28. An apparatus as recited in claim 27 wherein each of said groups of needles is mounted on a reciprocable needle bar, one of said bars being angularly movable relative to the other about an axis substantially along the points of stitch formation.

29. An apparatus as recited in claim 27 wherein the needles of one of said groups are rotatable on their axes.

30. A method of straight bar knitting utilizing at least two knitting bars each having a plurality of needles mounted thereon which comprises knitting a first type of knitting pattern with the bars in one position, angularly moving one of said bars relative to the other of said bars about an axis substantially along the points of stitch formation to another position while maintaining the yarn loops on the needles of both bars during said angular movement and knitting another type of knitting pattern with said bars in said other position, the needles of both bars knitting in each position.

31. A method of knitting as recited in claim 30 wherein the needles of said movable bar are rotated on their axes approximately 180 as said bar is moved from said first position to said other position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,202,824 Boulais June 4, 1940 2,453,542 Sapin Nov. 9, 1948 2,627,173 Hirsch Feb. 3, 1953 

